As you're well aware,
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we're living in
unprecedented times.
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Join us now for
today's special program.
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people.
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Hello, and welcome to
another 3ABN Today program.
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I'm Jason Bradley.
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And I'm so glad
that you could join us.
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You know, when I
was a little kid,
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my mother used to read
me stories in the morning
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and read me
bedtime stories at night
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to connect me with Christ.
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So these were
Bible based stories.
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And we are going to be
discussing long ago stories
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that matter today
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and with me to
discuss this wonderful topic,
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we have Pastor Bradley Booth
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and you're out of
Rochester, Minnesota.
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That's right. That's right.
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And we have your
lovely wife Maribel Booth.
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And you are a nurse
and Spanish interpreter.
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Yes. Yes. Yes.
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So glad to have you on.
We have so much to cover.
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And you have
written so many books,
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and we're going to
dive into story by story
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hopefully just give us
a little brief synopsis,
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but before we do that,
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we are going to be blessed
in song by Matt Throgmorton.
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And the song is "I'll Tell It."
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I'll tell
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Of my Savior
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I'll tell of His favor
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I'll tell it
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Lord,
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Wherever I go
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I'll count
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Every blessing
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I'll go on confessing
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I'll tell it
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Lord,
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Wherever I go
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What He is
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To you
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Maybe you cannot see
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But this thing
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I know
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He's everything to me
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Oh, He'll be there
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Meet me there
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Then go where He's prepared
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I'll tell it,
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Lord,
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Wherever I go
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And
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If I were dying
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With just one word
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To say
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I'd speak it
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For Jesus
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And breathe my life away
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'Cause He'll be there
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Lead me there
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Then go
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Where He's prepared
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I'll tell it
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Lord,
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Wherever I go.
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Amen.
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I'll Tell It,
what a powerful message
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and we're talking
about storytelling.
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So I wanna get into the stories,
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but I wanna go back
into your background.
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So just give us a little
bit about your background?
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Background's similar to yours,
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grew up in a little country home
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with a mother and father,
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who believed that the Bible
is the number one rule of faith
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and if you wanna teach your kids
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how to live a good life
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and prepare for
themselves for heaven
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and be missionary for
Jesus and have a great walk,
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you know, have faith
with Jesus Bible stories
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so all the time.
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I mean, in the
morning on the way to school,
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we were memorizing
verses of scripture
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for the
Pathfinder JMV thing, right?
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Yeah. And night, always a story.
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Sabbath after church.
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My mother always
make us all go in,
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there's eight of us kids,
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sit and listen to
my father read stories.
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Wow.
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While she prepared dinner
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and we wanted to
help and she said,
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"Nope. This is
your time with father."
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Very wise woman. Yeah.
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I learned at an
early age to sit and listen
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as well as tell stories.
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My mother was a
grand storyteller
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from New England.
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I mean, she could hold
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audiences
spellbound with scary stories,
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Bible stories, miracle stories.
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I just admire
that woman so much.
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All kinds of stories. Oh.
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Yes.
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And I love the fact
that she gave you guys
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that time with your father.
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And it was kind of like
the high priest of the home
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at that moment
setting that up there.
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Yes. What about you, Maribel?
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I love to read Bible stories.
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So I started
reading Bible stories
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with the Bible
stories from Maxwell.
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Those were the
ones that I loved.
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My brother got them for me.
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And I remember after
I read all the books,
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I said, "Oh, man, I need more."
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Yes.
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Yeah, I was not as much as Brad,
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but I love Bible stories.
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Yes, that's true.
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So you went from
loving Bible stories
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to creating Bible stories.
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You know, it's
a tough generation
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in which we're living.
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You know that most of the
books that are being written
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are about
mythological characters,
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Harry Potter type series,
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everything that is
grandiose the supernatural
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and wars stories
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and to get boys to read
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pretty much
that's what people think
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they have to do and so,
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of course, boys
get used to that.
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I said, "Lord, we have to help
change this narrative around.
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Lord, what can we do?"
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So about 50 years ago, I said,
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"I guess, Lord,
I'm gonna try to help."
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So I wrote,
started writing for boys.
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And, of course,
it's branched out now,
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I write for adults
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and I write for
girls too, but...
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What was your first
book that you wrote?
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They Call Him The
Miracle Man. Okay.
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Is a spoof on
the Fourth Wise Man.
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And he kind of looking for Jesus
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and he meets these
nine different characters,
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who were closely
interacting with Jesus,
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you know, Zacchaeus,
Lazarus, Simon the Pharisee.
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Okay.
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A thief on the cross,
before he came to the cross.
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And of course, you know,
it takes a little imagination,
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but these are lifelike scenarios
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that probably
could have happened.
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Okay.
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And this man, of course,
is a little bit doubting.
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So I placed that in
the narrative doubting
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a little bit.
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So he actually
never gets to meet Jesus.
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When he finally sees him,
He's already dead on the cross.
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But he does meet Him
about three weeks later,
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on the Sea of Galilee
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with all the 500
people so it's a...
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Yes, very...
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Imagination
story. Very interesting.
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Interesting story.
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I see that you
focus on Bible stories.
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Yes. Now, what's behind that?
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Like, why just Bible stories?
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You know, a lot of
people try to get me to go
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and to write some novels for,
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you know, New York
Times bestseller list,
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you know, that type of thing.
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And I said,
"What's gonna matter?
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When I'm done in life
and when I meet my maker,
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those kinds of
books will mean nothing.
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If I can bring somebody to
know Jesus and actually win,
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help them win them for heaven.
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For eternity,
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I will be
reflecting on that saying,
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'I'm glad I did.'"
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So I have a policy in life.
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I was saying this long before
it became a populous theme.
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No regrets.
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No regrets.
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Do what you do to honor
God, your parents, your church.
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You'll have no regrets.
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Yes, yes.
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Now that's got to be hard
in terms of being a pastor,
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being an author,
being a family man,
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I mean, you have so many things
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like how do you
prioritize your time?
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Well, Maribel would have
some things to say about that.
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First of all, you will find,
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anybody will find
there's a lot of spaces
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in a day that we waste.
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We watch TV, and sports.
We play on our cell phones.
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I'm not saying I
never do those things,
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but usually I'm not
watching a football game alone.
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I'm also editing
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the latest
chapter for something.
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Got you.
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Or I'm jotting
down ideas that I see.
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Even when I have a
guest preacher come,
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I'm jotting down ideas
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that I'm inspired
by what he's saying.
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Yes, yes.
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Wow, that would
make a great article.
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That would be an inspiring book.
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It happens.
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So you're
taking, in other words,
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you're taking multitasking
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to the ultimate
level pretty much.
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Yeah, truly.
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Taking too much sometimes.
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Absolutely. Yes.
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And so how do you come into play
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while he's writing and
all of that stuff like,
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have you ever talked to
him about some of the stories?
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And I mean...
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First of all, like
our granddaughter says,
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"I really enjoy
seeing him writing for God."
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I really do
because we want our kids
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to learn about Jesus.
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And what best way to do this.
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He spends, if it's
time to go to sleep,
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he will be probably till
1:00 or 2:00 or 3 o'clock
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in the morning writing.
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If something comes
up and he has an idea,
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he'll wake up.
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And I say, "What are you doing?"
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He says, "I just got an idea.
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I have to write it down."
00:11:44.30\00:11:45.63
So he does that.
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If we're traveling, and
he has a project in mind,
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a book in mind
like we did just now.
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I'll be driving,
he'll be writing,
00:11:52.51\00:11:55.58
but I miss when
he's not writing.
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I really do
because I know that this,
00:11:57.58\00:12:00.48
all these books are legacy
for our children in the future.
00:12:00.52\00:12:04.59
Yes, yes.
00:12:04.62\00:12:05.95
So you're right, this
little bit of the process.
00:12:05.99\00:12:08.26
You know, people say,
00:12:08.29\00:12:09.62
"Oh, writing is
probably 90% sweat
00:12:09.66\00:12:14.53
and 10% inspiration."
00:12:14.56\00:12:16.26
And they say, "How
do you get inspired?"
00:12:16.30\00:12:17.63
Well, when you have the
moment and you have the concept,
00:12:17.67\00:12:20.94
if at all
possible, write it down
00:12:20.97\00:12:22.44
because that
moment may not return.
00:12:22.47\00:12:24.81
So that's what I do with that,
00:12:24.84\00:12:27.28
but, you know, once
you start doing this,
00:12:27.31\00:12:29.68
even I dream scenarios,
00:12:29.71\00:12:31.91
and I wake up in the
morning with a complete concept
00:12:31.95\00:12:35.58
for a book in my mind
00:12:35.62\00:12:36.95
that clearly must
have come from God.
00:12:36.99\00:12:39.19
I mean, it's
coming from my psyche,
00:12:39.22\00:12:40.72
from thinking about,
00:12:40.76\00:12:42.86
you know, how to
capture great stories,
00:12:42.89\00:12:45.06
but really, how can we
make the Bible become real
00:12:45.09\00:12:48.96
to, for a generation who
watches movies and is into,
00:12:49.00\00:12:53.13
you know, surreal,
00:12:53.17\00:12:54.57
it's a real
nature of our culture,
00:12:54.60\00:12:55.94
you would think
that would come easy,
00:12:55.97\00:12:57.71
it is not.
00:12:57.74\00:12:59.11
And so we have to
help this generation,
00:12:59.14\00:13:02.14
and that's my mission in
life is to transform the Bible
00:13:02.18\00:13:06.08
into something they
can see and say, "Ah!"
00:13:06.11\00:13:09.12
Yes, yes.
00:13:09.15\00:13:10.49
That's what it was like.
Yes, very, very important.
00:13:10.52\00:13:13.15
Now when writing a book,
00:13:13.19\00:13:14.92
depending on
what you're writing,
00:13:14.96\00:13:16.29
it requires a lot of research.
00:13:16.32\00:13:17.86
Which one of your books
00:13:17.89\00:13:19.23
took the most
amount of research?
00:13:19.26\00:13:21.96
Have to be the Noah books. Okay.
00:13:22.00\00:13:24.07
Chosen One and
The End of the World.
00:13:24.10\00:13:25.70
Okay.
00:13:25.73\00:13:27.07
But close second would be,
00:13:27.10\00:13:31.01
I just finished a
book called The Last Call.
00:13:31.04\00:13:33.38
And it's about the
end times of the world
00:13:33.41\00:13:36.64
really parallels
the Great Controversy,
00:13:36.68\00:13:38.51
the last seven chapters.
00:13:38.55\00:13:39.88
What will we be facing?
00:13:39.91\00:13:41.25
What scenarios can
we possibly imagine?
00:13:41.28\00:13:44.29
Our experiences with God
00:13:44.32\00:13:46.25
will be greater
than we can imagine.
00:13:46.29\00:13:48.56
The temptations to
capitulate and give it all up
00:13:48.59\00:13:52.86
will be greater than
anything we have faced now.
00:13:52.89\00:13:55.60
And we read that
00:13:55.63\00:13:56.97
in both the Bible
and Spirit of Prophecy,
00:13:57.00\00:13:58.33
so I wanted to
capture for people,
00:13:58.37\00:14:00.74
not a frightening story,
00:14:00.77\00:14:02.44
but a story that
will help them know
00:14:02.47\00:14:06.57
that God is gonna be with
them then just like He is now.
00:14:06.61\00:14:11.95
Standing with us in
the midst of our trials.
00:14:11.98\00:14:13.72
And then what
we're going through
00:14:13.75\00:14:15.08
in our culture right
now or even at the door.
00:14:15.12\00:14:17.25
Yes, yes, yes, I
believe that we are.
00:14:17.29\00:14:20.32
This thing's coming to a close.
00:14:20.36\00:14:21.99
This is coming to a close.
00:14:22.02\00:14:24.89
So all right,
00:14:24.93\00:14:26.26
which one was your
most fun book to write?
00:14:26.29\00:14:30.90
Probably,
00:14:30.93\00:14:33.34
either Guardians
of the Mercy Seat,
00:14:33.37\00:14:36.10
I love that era in history,
00:14:36.14\00:14:38.54
time of the judges
00:14:38.57\00:14:40.21
when the place was coming apart,
00:14:40.24\00:14:43.14
but of course,
00:14:43.18\00:14:44.51
we have the beauty of hindsight,
00:14:44.55\00:14:46.38
which we say, "Well,
this is what I would do."
00:14:46.41\00:14:49.55
You have to avoid that.
00:14:49.58\00:14:50.92
People say hindsight 2020. Yeah.
00:14:50.95\00:14:52.59
We didn't have hindsight.
00:14:52.62\00:14:55.12
Second close would be What If?
00:14:55.16\00:14:56.83
What If was one
of the easiest books
00:14:56.86\00:14:58.96
I've ever been able to write
00:14:58.99\00:15:00.33
because all my life
listening to stories
00:15:00.36\00:15:03.13
about Bible characters,
00:15:03.16\00:15:04.50
some of those took no research
00:15:04.53\00:15:06.50
because I remember my
mother telling them to me,
00:15:06.53\00:15:08.40
I remember my
father reading them to us.
00:15:08.44\00:15:10.91
And with my
imagination, of course,
00:15:10.94\00:15:12.27
I tried to put a little
spin on the colors and tastes
00:15:12.31\00:15:16.11
and the sounds so
365 Bible characters,
00:15:16.14\00:15:19.51
what if they had
not been faithful?
00:15:19.55\00:15:22.88
Or what if they
had been faithful?
00:15:22.92\00:15:25.19
Samson, Esther, Eve.
00:15:25.22\00:15:28.06
All of those
00:15:28.09\00:15:29.42
what would have
been the results?
00:15:29.46\00:15:30.79
What would the world
look like? Where would we be?
00:15:30.83\00:15:32.19
What kind of a parallel universe
00:15:32.23\00:15:33.56
type of thing,
00:15:33.60\00:15:34.93
you know, would
we be experiencing
00:15:34.96\00:15:36.30
because of good choices.
00:15:36.33\00:15:37.67
It's all about
choices. Yeah, yeah.
00:15:37.70\00:15:40.77
Now I know that you
write all these books,
00:15:40.80\00:15:43.04
but I also know
00:15:43.07\00:15:44.41
that you have
to prepare sermons.
00:15:44.44\00:15:45.91
And so, I'm wondering
with your storytelling
00:15:45.94\00:15:49.54
and all of that stuff,
00:15:49.58\00:15:51.35
how do you prepare your sermons?
00:15:51.38\00:15:53.31
Well, you know,
every good sermon
00:15:53.35\00:15:55.18
begins with a story.
00:15:55.22\00:15:56.58
So we wanna
capture people's attention.
00:15:56.62\00:15:58.02
Jesus did it.
00:15:58.05\00:15:59.39
You know, He would say,
00:15:59.42\00:16:00.96
"Behold, a certain man went out
and found treasure in a field."
00:16:00.99\00:16:05.59
And then He
spins from that story,
00:16:05.63\00:16:08.00
the need to search
for a treasure in heaven
00:16:08.03\00:16:10.43
where your treasure is,
there your heart be also.
00:16:10.47\00:16:13.23
So it starts
with a story usually.
00:16:13.27\00:16:15.84
I hear a great story.
00:16:15.87\00:16:17.21
It's sometimes it's a story
that's happened to somebody,
00:16:17.24\00:16:19.91
you know, some miracle stories
that have happened to us,
00:16:19.94\00:16:22.08
and then there's a Bible story.
00:16:22.11\00:16:23.45
There's always a Bible story.
00:16:23.48\00:16:24.91
There's enough Bible stories
00:16:24.95\00:16:26.28
to go around for every scenario
00:16:26.31\00:16:28.08
that you can ever experience.
00:16:28.12\00:16:29.62
And so I couple
those two together
00:16:29.65\00:16:32.99
with a few Ellen White quotes,
00:16:33.02\00:16:35.09
and of course, a
myriad of Bible verses,
00:16:35.12\00:16:37.13
not too much.
00:16:37.16\00:16:38.49
People don't usually
need a lot to be inspired.
00:16:38.53\00:16:41.00
They need something
00:16:41.03\00:16:42.36
that will just turn
their face to Jesus.
00:16:42.40\00:16:45.40
And that's enough. Yes.
00:16:45.43\00:16:47.50
And so that's the
goal of the sermons
00:16:47.54\00:16:49.30
is to turn their face to Jesus.
00:16:49.34\00:16:51.84
Amen. Amen.
00:16:51.87\00:16:53.24
That's exactly
right. I love that.
00:16:53.27\00:16:55.28
And I love the teamwork
that you guys have going on
00:16:55.31\00:16:57.61
because I'm a firm believer
00:16:57.65\00:16:59.21
that teamwork
makes the dream work, so.
00:16:59.25\00:17:00.82
Amen. Yes.
00:17:00.85\00:17:02.22
Yeah. So that's a blessing.
00:17:02.25\00:17:03.92
What part about writing books
00:17:03.95\00:17:05.79
brings you the
greatest satisfaction?
00:17:05.82\00:17:07.92
You know, people might say,
00:17:07.96\00:17:10.93
"Oh, wow, you know the money."
00:17:10.96\00:17:12.63
I remember the
very first letter I got
00:17:12.66\00:17:14.03
from Penny Wheeler
at Review and Herald,
00:17:14.06\00:17:17.47
the letter starts out.
00:17:17.50\00:17:20.04
"I hope you are gonna
enjoy this journey with us.
00:17:20.07\00:17:23.87
The sale of this book won't pay
00:17:23.91\00:17:25.57
for your kid's
college education.
00:17:25.61\00:17:28.44
It won't, you know, help you
get that dream trip to Hawaii,
00:17:28.48\00:17:32.25
but it will make the
difference in somebody's life."
00:17:32.28\00:17:34.88
So of course,
00:17:34.92\00:17:36.25
having people
lives change is great,
00:17:36.28\00:17:38.52
but I have to tell you,
writing to me is cathartic.
00:17:38.55\00:17:42.89
I mean, it's as much
fun as playing basketball
00:17:42.92\00:17:44.46
and I love playing basketball.
00:17:44.49\00:17:45.83
Me too. I get a rush.
00:17:45.86\00:17:47.46
I don't wanna stop.
00:17:47.50\00:17:50.17
You need to stop at some point.
00:17:50.20\00:17:52.23
Especially when Maribel saying,
00:17:52.27\00:17:53.84
"You need to go to bed,
you don't wanna look old."
00:17:53.87\00:17:57.21
Happy wife equals happy life.
00:17:57.24\00:17:58.84
Okay. Oh, yes.
00:17:58.87\00:18:00.24
Yes, I'm taking notes.
00:18:00.28\00:18:01.98
Yeah. Yes.
00:18:02.01\00:18:04.21
That's right.
00:18:04.25\00:18:05.58
Okay, so which one would you say
00:18:05.61\00:18:07.78
that you enjoy more
writing books for adults
00:18:07.82\00:18:10.69
or writing books for children?
00:18:10.72\00:18:12.95
And if you
don't have a favorite,
00:18:12.99\00:18:17.19
what are your
reasons for each category?
00:18:17.23\00:18:19.63
I'm not gonna play
both sides of the coin
00:18:19.66\00:18:21.06
because we write it right.
00:18:21.10\00:18:24.20
Probably more books for kids now
00:18:24.23\00:18:26.30
because I've been a
teacher for 18 years
00:18:26.33\00:18:28.27
in junior high and
elementary classroom.
00:18:28.30\00:18:31.14
And I just, I'm saddened
when I hear kids telling me
00:18:31.17\00:18:35.58
they don't know a
story in the Bible.
00:18:35.61\00:18:37.41
They don't know the story of,
00:18:37.45\00:18:39.05
you know, Daniel
in the lions' den.
00:18:39.08\00:18:40.55
I'm astonished.
00:18:40.58\00:18:42.58
I'm concerned.
00:18:42.62\00:18:45.62
And so, I wanna
write so that kids,
00:18:45.65\00:18:48.09
I've got second
generation families now
00:18:48.12\00:18:50.36
coming back,
they read the books,
00:18:50.39\00:18:51.73
they're reading the
books to their kids.
00:18:51.76\00:18:53.73
So they say please,
don't stop writing for kids
00:18:53.76\00:18:57.00
and don't stop,
don't change the style.
00:18:57.03\00:18:59.33
Everybody thinks you
have to change the style
00:18:59.37\00:19:01.14
with the times.
00:19:01.17\00:19:02.50
You know, you got it,
00:19:02.54\00:19:03.87
when God's got a
good brand going,
00:19:03.91\00:19:05.37
don't change it.
00:19:05.41\00:19:06.78
He brands very well.
00:19:06.81\00:19:09.01
So as far as
adults are concerned,
00:19:09.04\00:19:11.55
it's very free,
00:19:11.58\00:19:12.91
I don't have to
worry about vocabulary.
00:19:12.95\00:19:14.92
What I usually do is I
write a book for adults,
00:19:14.95\00:19:17.12
and then I
00:19:17.15\00:19:18.49
'cause I don't
dumb down the plot,
00:19:18.52\00:19:19.85
I don't dumb down.
00:19:19.89\00:19:21.62
You know, I don't
dumb down the message,
00:19:21.66\00:19:23.76
and message for kids
needs to be a serious one,
00:19:23.79\00:19:25.49
be faithful to Jesus.
00:19:25.53\00:19:26.93
Then I go
through and I simplify,
00:19:26.96\00:19:29.53
you know, the jargon.
00:19:29.56\00:19:31.03
And make it shorter chapters,
00:19:31.07\00:19:32.83
you know, a little
bit shorter sentences...
00:19:32.87\00:19:34.50
More palatable for the...
00:19:34.54\00:19:35.87
A little bit,
00:19:35.90\00:19:37.24
but the adult
ones are fun to write
00:19:37.27\00:19:39.34
because, you know, the
vocabulary just unfolds.
00:19:39.37\00:19:43.38
Yes.
00:19:43.41\00:19:44.75
Which one would you say
is your most challenging?
00:19:44.78\00:19:47.35
Which one's the
most challenging?
00:19:47.38\00:19:48.72
Yeah.
00:19:48.75\00:19:50.09
Got to be
Children's Century Classics.
00:19:50.12\00:19:51.95
Okay.
00:19:51.99\00:19:53.32
Maribel will
tell you that was...
00:19:53.36\00:19:56.76
It's a major project.
00:19:56.79\00:19:58.16
I'll be honest with you.
00:19:58.19\00:19:59.53
We worked so
hard on that series,
00:19:59.56\00:20:01.20
they gave us a timeline,
it was incredibly short,
00:20:01.23\00:20:04.80
but there's some wisdom in that
00:20:04.83\00:20:06.40
because the shorter
the space of time is,
00:20:06.43\00:20:08.50
the more likely those stories
will be of the same pattern,
00:20:08.54\00:20:11.97
the same tone, the same type.
00:20:12.01\00:20:13.84
So we really didn't
think it was possible
00:20:13.88\00:20:17.78
'cause I was
Superintendent of Education,
00:20:17.81\00:20:20.95
traveling everywhere,
00:20:20.98\00:20:22.32
but God was good, and
we managed to finish it.
00:20:22.35\00:20:25.79
I don't even really remember
writing some of those stories.
00:20:25.82\00:20:30.13
So I'm telling you Maribel,
00:20:30.16\00:20:31.49
you know, I
think the Holy Spirit
00:20:31.53\00:20:32.86
was so close at hand.
00:20:32.89\00:20:34.23
I had to be sure I said,
00:20:34.26\00:20:35.60
"Lord, please these stories
in these seven volumes set
00:20:35.63\00:20:40.70
parallel to the Ellen White
Conflict of the Ages series.
00:20:40.74\00:20:44.01
Starting with The
Fall of Lucifer in heaven
00:20:44.04\00:20:45.54
and Patriarchs and Prophets
00:20:45.57\00:20:46.91
ending with the
Great Controversy,
00:20:46.94\00:20:48.28
the earth made new
and everything in between.
00:20:48.31\00:20:50.58
So this series has,
00:20:50.61\00:20:52.61
you know, the
Great Controversy book
00:20:52.65\00:20:54.72
encapsulated in the
lives of the reformers.
00:20:54.75\00:20:57.45
You know, Martin Luther,
00:20:57.49\00:20:58.82
there's 30 chapters just on him.
00:20:58.85\00:21:00.56
There's six chapters just
on the greatest deceptions
00:21:00.59\00:21:04.13
that Satan will bring
at the end of the world
00:21:04.16\00:21:07.46
to try to get God's
people the elect to fall,
00:21:07.50\00:21:10.03
our kids need to know that.
00:21:10.07\00:21:11.57
And, of course,
it ends with a finale
00:21:11.60\00:21:13.10
with The Time of Trouble
00:21:13.13\00:21:14.47
and wanted to write it in a way
00:21:14.50\00:21:15.87
that it would be frightening,
00:21:15.90\00:21:17.24
but would be encouraging
00:21:17.27\00:21:18.61
and maybe even exciting
for kids to realize that,
00:21:18.64\00:21:21.08
"Hey, this is gonna
be the best movie ever.
00:21:21.11\00:21:25.41
I'm gonna be in it."
00:21:25.45\00:21:26.78
Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:21:26.82\00:21:28.15
And on the right side of it.
00:21:28.18\00:21:30.19
Every time.
00:21:30.22\00:21:31.55
That's right. That's right.
00:21:31.59\00:21:32.92
So let's talk
about some of these,
00:21:32.95\00:21:34.29
we have God Said It.
00:21:34.32\00:21:35.66
Tell me about the
God Said It series?
00:21:35.69\00:21:37.89
God Said It series was a idea
00:21:37.93\00:21:40.26
spawned at the
General Conference
00:21:40.30\00:21:42.06
by somebody who had a vision.
00:21:42.10\00:21:44.87
And I don't even
know who that was.
00:21:44.90\00:21:48.24
I had not been told
00:21:48.27\00:21:49.60
they would choose
to remain anonymous,
00:21:49.64\00:21:50.97
but 16 booklets
written on characters,
00:21:51.01\00:21:54.64
and it's usually
stories in the Bible,
00:21:54.68\00:21:56.01
short stories, four in a book,
00:21:56.04\00:21:58.65
and each book has
four coloring pages
00:21:58.68\00:22:01.92
for the kids,
00:22:01.95\00:22:03.28
so if they're in
church, they can read up,
00:22:03.32\00:22:04.65
they can color it.
00:22:04.69\00:22:06.02
And so, you know,
00:22:06.05\00:22:07.39
we have all the way
we could start again.
00:22:07.42\00:22:09.62
The first creation of
man and animals in the earth
00:22:09.66\00:22:14.20
and through Bible
heroes like Moses, like Joseph,
00:22:14.23\00:22:20.27
David, Daniel,
00:22:20.30\00:22:21.94
all the way through the
time to The God's Final Church
00:22:21.97\00:22:24.37
and The Earth Made New Again.
00:22:24.41\00:22:25.74
So 16 booklets,
00:22:25.77\00:22:28.84
all to be used as
shared booklets for kids
00:22:28.88\00:22:30.98
to give to their friends.
00:22:31.01\00:22:32.78
So it's not just about,
00:22:32.81\00:22:34.15
you know, what your
kid's gonna be doing with this,
00:22:34.18\00:22:35.78
but can He really
bring somebody to Jesus?
00:22:35.82\00:22:38.35
Yeah. So it's
an evangelism tool.
00:22:38.39\00:22:40.36
It is. Yes.
00:22:40.39\00:22:41.72
And that's beautiful.
00:22:41.76\00:22:43.09
And I love the fact
00:22:43.12\00:22:44.46
that it has the coloring
pages in there for activities,
00:22:44.49\00:22:46.49
keep the kids occupied as well.
00:22:46.53\00:22:49.06
So let's go to
our next series here.
00:22:49.10\00:22:53.50
We've got Esther,
00:22:53.54\00:22:55.10
we've got Adventures in Galilee.
00:22:55.14\00:22:58.77
Tell me a little bit about that?
00:22:58.81\00:23:00.14
It all started
with an idea that I had
00:23:00.18\00:23:02.54
back to first version I
wrote they didn't accept.
00:23:02.58\00:23:05.88
I said, "No, okay."
00:23:05.91\00:23:07.25
So I like challenges,
00:23:07.28\00:23:08.62
you know, I retooled it
00:23:08.65\00:23:10.75
and send it back, they liked it,
00:23:10.79\00:23:12.25
it became Plagues In The Palace,
00:23:12.29\00:23:14.06
it's the story about a kid
00:23:14.09\00:23:15.62
who grows up and
ends up being his father,
00:23:15.66\00:23:17.39
ends up being the
scribe for Moses and Aaron
00:23:17.43\00:23:20.23
because everywhere they go,
00:23:20.26\00:23:21.63
so he where his
father works in the palace
00:23:21.66\00:23:23.87
and so this kid
gets a front row seat
00:23:23.90\00:23:26.40
for all of the
ten plagues that go on
00:23:26.43\00:23:27.77
and of course,
I really love this
00:23:27.80\00:23:29.14
as a boy story
00:23:29.17\00:23:30.51
because it talk
about those frogs
00:23:30.54\00:23:31.87
in the bed with you
00:23:31.91\00:23:33.24
and jumping in your cereal bowl,
00:23:33.27\00:23:35.04
and we're talking about
grasshoppers hopping on you
00:23:35.08\00:23:36.85
and, you know, chewing on you
00:23:36.88\00:23:38.21
'cause they think
you're a blade of grass.
00:23:38.25\00:23:40.02
And we talk about
all of these plagues
00:23:40.05\00:23:42.72
that comes to life.
00:23:42.75\00:23:44.49
So if that book,
00:23:44.52\00:23:46.49
they designed it with
a half face on the page,
00:23:46.52\00:23:50.63
Glarus Justin and
just took the half page,
00:23:50.66\00:23:53.26
half face for the page
and they liked it so well,
00:23:53.29\00:23:55.83
that the next six
books in the series
00:23:55.86\00:23:57.43
also have the half face
00:23:57.47\00:23:59.13
so that that branded that series
00:23:59.17\00:24:00.90
called Adventures in Faith
also biographies of people, so.
00:24:00.94\00:24:04.51
Okay, what about the
Lost Treasure series?
00:24:04.54\00:24:07.24
Lost Treasures is...
00:24:07.28\00:24:08.61
I was at Academy
and some kids said,
00:24:08.64\00:24:10.51
"Are you gonna
write another book?"
00:24:10.55\00:24:12.18
Yes, I'm always writing books.
00:24:12.21\00:24:13.62
And I said, "Yes,
00:24:13.65\00:24:15.05
what would you
like me to write about?"
00:24:15.08\00:24:16.95
And he said, "Lost
treasures in the Bible."
00:24:16.99\00:24:20.12
I said, "Okay."
00:24:20.16\00:24:21.92
So that's how that
series got started.
00:24:21.96\00:24:23.56
There's three in
that series so far
00:24:23.59\00:24:25.66
working on a fourth one.
00:24:25.69\00:24:27.30
And, you know,
Raiders of the Lost Ark,
00:24:27.33\00:24:29.80
the movie that they made
00:24:29.83\00:24:31.17
about the framing of
the Ark of the Covenant.
00:24:31.20\00:24:33.00
My first book is
about the real story.
00:24:33.03\00:24:36.04
How it was lost?
00:24:36.07\00:24:37.61
How it was to return
again to God's people,
00:24:37.64\00:24:39.34
you know, they didn't know.
00:24:39.37\00:24:40.94
They didn't know that
that Ark was coming back.
00:24:40.98\00:24:42.84
Everybody was saying
00:24:42.88\00:24:44.21
the glory of God has
departed from Israel.
00:24:44.25\00:24:46.51
Kind of feel that
way in America today
00:24:46.55\00:24:48.25
that, you know, somehow
we're departing from God
00:24:48.28\00:24:51.49
and we're afraid,
00:24:51.52\00:24:53.05
people are afraid they
don't know what's coming.
00:24:53.09\00:24:54.72
This story kind of
brings it full circle.
00:24:54.76\00:24:57.76
So people will say...
00:24:57.79\00:24:59.66
So God has a lot of tricks
00:24:59.69\00:25:01.86
that He can
pull out of that hat.
00:25:01.90\00:25:03.23
I just need to stick with Him.
00:25:03.26\00:25:04.60
Got you. Got you.
00:25:04.63\00:25:05.97
So there's some
treasures in there.
00:25:06.00\00:25:07.70
Oh, yeah. Yes, yes.
00:25:07.74\00:25:09.54
Now the Children's
Century Classics set,
00:25:09.57\00:25:12.91
tell me about that?
00:25:12.94\00:25:14.28
Yeah, we were mentioning
that a few minutes ago.
00:25:14.31\00:25:15.64
This is seven volumes.
00:25:15.68\00:25:17.35
All hardback,
00:25:17.38\00:25:18.71
that's the first
children's series
00:25:18.75\00:25:20.85
I did in hardback,
00:25:20.88\00:25:22.22
the pages are all
glossy, very nice glossy,
00:25:22.25\00:25:26.12
literally, you can
spill peanut butter
00:25:26.15\00:25:27.66
on that page,
00:25:27.69\00:25:29.02
and the oils will
not soak into the page.
00:25:29.06\00:25:30.93
Wow.
00:25:30.96\00:25:33.03
We were told it
couldn't be done.
00:25:33.06\00:25:34.40
It was too expensive,
00:25:34.43\00:25:36.97
horrendous prices
for artwork today,
00:25:37.00\00:25:39.53
but we managed to
work with a company
00:25:39.57\00:25:41.94
that worked with us
00:25:41.97\00:25:43.30
so there's 680
illustrations in this book
00:25:43.34\00:25:45.97
ultra eleven every page.
00:25:46.01\00:25:48.38
There's 280 stories.
00:25:48.41\00:25:51.05
Wow! Two hundred
and eighty stories!
00:25:51.08\00:25:52.41
And at the end of every chapter
00:25:52.45\00:25:55.12
is some questions for the kids.
00:25:55.15\00:25:56.99
And then a little cue.
00:25:57.02\00:25:59.45
Cue code thing there
that you can scan that
00:25:59.49\00:26:01.39
and it will take
you to the website.
00:26:01.42\00:26:03.93
And you could also
get these in audiobooks.
00:26:03.96\00:26:06.13
They're all done
now on audiobook, so.
00:26:06.16\00:26:08.10
I think someone in the
studio was telling me here
00:26:08.13\00:26:10.03
that her son had
listened to those
00:26:10.07\00:26:12.23
in fact, he listened
to all of them straight
00:26:12.27\00:26:15.24
over several days straight
00:26:15.27\00:26:17.01
and finished them
in a matter of days
00:26:17.04\00:26:18.87
because he
couldn't put it down, so.
00:26:18.91\00:26:21.68
He couldn't put it down.
00:26:21.71\00:26:23.04
Do you find yourself
reading these stories
00:26:23.08\00:26:25.11
or listening to the audiobooks?
00:26:25.15\00:26:27.52
I enjoy looking at these books.
00:26:27.55\00:26:31.95
I haven't read them all
yet 'cause there's quite a bit,
00:26:31.99\00:26:34.72
but I enjoy just our
grandkids we show them
00:26:34.76\00:26:38.73
especially the
oldest granddaughter.
00:26:38.76\00:26:41.73
She has looked at the
books and she loves the pages.
00:26:41.76\00:26:46.67
So I do enjoy
reading Brad's books,
00:26:46.70\00:26:49.34
especially the ones
that are really true stories.
00:26:49.37\00:26:52.41
Those I love.
00:26:52.44\00:26:53.94
These other ones he reads to me.
00:26:53.98\00:26:55.84
He's a good
reader, Bible storyteller,
00:26:55.88\00:26:59.58
so he reads to me also.
00:26:59.61\00:27:01.58
Yes, he's got a
great voice. Yeah.
00:27:01.62\00:27:03.89
And they're
fascinating because it teaches,
00:27:03.92\00:27:06.69
it gets the kids
closer to the Bible,
00:27:06.72\00:27:09.26
closer to what really
was what happened then.
00:27:09.29\00:27:14.00
And it, to me is just
character building too.
00:27:14.03\00:27:18.77
So these books
are very important
00:27:18.80\00:27:20.14
for children.
00:27:20.17\00:27:21.50
Now have, you know,
00:27:21.54\00:27:22.87
some books when I'm telling
her about the plot she goes,
00:27:22.90\00:27:24.97
okay, I don't
wanna hear any more
00:27:25.01\00:27:26.47
until the book comes out.
00:27:26.51\00:27:27.84
Yes. Say I can't handle this.
00:27:27.88\00:27:29.21
You read me chapter and chapter
I wanna see the whole thing.
00:27:29.24\00:27:32.31
The others like devotionals.
00:27:32.35\00:27:34.15
She wants to hear
themselves, print them off,
00:27:34.18\00:27:35.58
and put them by her bedside.
00:27:35.62\00:27:36.95
And she'll read this
one, and she read that one,
00:27:36.99\00:27:38.85
where gonna I
find that in the story.
00:27:38.89\00:27:40.86
So from those she got interested
00:27:40.89\00:27:42.79
and now she'd been
reading in 1 and 2 Samuel,
00:27:42.82\00:27:44.93
1 and 2 Kings,
00:27:44.96\00:27:46.29
where the bulk of Bible stories
00:27:46.33\00:27:48.86
from both the good
side and the bad side
00:27:48.90\00:27:51.23
of the Great Controversy come
00:27:51.27\00:27:52.63
and so you can be
greatly encouraged
00:27:52.67\00:27:55.04
by the good stories,
00:27:55.07\00:27:56.40
and learn
lessons from the stories
00:27:56.44\00:27:57.77
that aren't so fun.
00:27:57.81\00:28:00.21
People made bad
choices. Yes, yes.
00:28:00.24\00:28:02.68
Talk to us about
the devotional series.
00:28:02.71\00:28:04.95
What are some
topics within these?
00:28:04.98\00:28:08.62
I know you talked
about the What If?
00:28:08.65\00:28:11.39
But talk about the 101
Reasons to Go to Heaven?
00:28:11.42\00:28:14.92
101 Reasons to Go to Heaven
was an idea that we hatched.
00:28:14.96\00:28:17.66
We were in Thailand,
00:28:17.69\00:28:19.03
we made a flying
trip over to Thailand
00:28:19.06\00:28:20.40
where we had
lived for three years.
00:28:20.43\00:28:22.06
I was a professor
at the university.
00:28:22.10\00:28:25.03
And she was a nurse.
00:28:25.07\00:28:26.40
So we made a flying trip
back to teach a summer class.
00:28:26.43\00:28:28.87
Well, of course, you can imagine
00:28:28.90\00:28:30.24
it's 12 hours difference.
00:28:30.27\00:28:31.61
It's 03:00 in the
morning and we are wide awake
00:28:31.64\00:28:33.38
because it's time for a
3 o'clock afternoon nap,
00:28:33.41\00:28:36.38
but we have
already been sleeping
00:28:36.41\00:28:37.75
for hours.
00:28:37.78\00:28:39.11
So we hatched this idea
and actually embed there
00:28:39.15\00:28:41.68
wrote out 101 ideas,
things that would be logical.
00:28:41.72\00:28:47.06
Why would you
wanna go to heaven?
00:28:47.09\00:28:49.09
Is there a number
one reason you wanna go?
00:28:49.12\00:28:51.23
Well, everybody
has their own reason.
00:28:51.26\00:28:53.63
And so, the first
one is No More Phobias.
00:28:53.66\00:28:57.53
Everybody's afraid of something.
00:28:57.57\00:28:59.17
So I go through all the phobias,
00:28:59.20\00:29:00.54
that technical names for
them and I said then I say,
00:29:00.57\00:29:03.17
think about this in
heaven No More Fears.
00:29:03.20\00:29:07.14
There's even one in there
that says Fear of Sermons.
00:29:07.18\00:29:09.88
Oh, really?
00:29:09.91\00:29:11.25
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah.
00:29:11.28\00:29:12.61
Right. Yeah.
00:29:12.65\00:29:13.98
Public speaking, it's
like the number one fear,
00:29:14.02\00:29:15.35
it seems like.
00:29:15.38\00:29:16.72
Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:16.75\00:29:18.09
So that was we...
00:29:18.12\00:29:20.32
There's some serious
ones, there's some fun ones.
00:29:20.36\00:29:22.49
No More Bad Hair Days.
00:29:22.52\00:29:23.93
Yes. Well, yeah.
00:29:23.96\00:29:25.86
But and I find myself
realizing that most people
00:29:25.89\00:29:29.86
talk about going to heaven
00:29:29.90\00:29:31.23
'cause of the bad
things they don't want,
00:29:31.27\00:29:33.80
but what about the good things?
00:29:33.84\00:29:35.17
Yes. Yes.
00:29:35.20\00:29:36.54
What about being able to
swim underwater for hours
00:29:36.57\00:29:38.77
with aqua lungs
00:29:38.81\00:29:40.14
or what about being
able to fly anywhere
00:29:40.18\00:29:41.94
with unlimited
frequent flyer miles?
00:29:41.98\00:29:44.01
Yes. You know?
00:29:44.05\00:29:45.38
Yes. Yep.
00:29:45.41\00:29:46.75
And not having to
pay the cost of a ticket.
00:29:46.78\00:29:50.49
Or what about being
able to talk with God
00:29:50.52\00:29:52.05
and there I say,
00:29:52.09\00:29:53.42
"I just kind of run the gamut."
00:29:53.46\00:29:54.79
I say, "Wait a minute."
00:29:54.82\00:29:56.32
Well, there's so many people
gonna wanna talk with God.
00:29:56.36\00:29:59.03
I'm gonna have to
wait for 40,000 years,
00:29:59.06\00:30:01.40
and then I said,
00:30:01.43\00:30:02.76
"Wait a minute.
00:30:02.80\00:30:04.13
God can probably talk to
millions of people at once
00:30:04.17\00:30:06.40
and you won't know it.
00:30:06.43\00:30:07.77
You will think He's
just talking to you."
00:30:07.80\00:30:09.14
Yeah.
00:30:09.17\00:30:10.51
And that's how it is now
00:30:10.54\00:30:11.87
because that personal
individualized relationship
00:30:11.91\00:30:14.98
with Christ, you know,
00:30:15.01\00:30:16.58
one of my reasons is like,
00:30:16.61\00:30:18.25
"I just can't wait to
see Jesus face-to-face
00:30:18.28\00:30:21.78
and to be in an
atmosphere of pure love.
00:30:21.82\00:30:25.15
No hidden
motives, no selfishness,
00:30:25.19\00:30:28.92
none of that
stuff, just pure love.
00:30:28.96\00:30:31.86
Like that's gonna be incredible.
00:30:31.89\00:30:34.06
So you have 101 reasons
in here to go to heaven.
00:30:34.10\00:30:38.87
Interesting.
00:30:38.90\00:30:40.24
And what other
books have you written?
00:30:40.27\00:30:44.14
Well, I mentioned,
you know, all books.
00:30:44.17\00:30:46.24
There's a
narrative series for adults.
00:30:46.27\00:30:48.14
I wrote a book
called The Prodigal:
00:30:48.18\00:30:49.61
A Tale of Two Brothers.
00:30:49.64\00:30:50.98
Yes.
00:30:51.01\00:30:52.35
And that one was, I
think that was the second,
00:30:52.38\00:30:54.85
third book I wrote.
00:30:54.88\00:30:56.25
And the idea is we
always talk about the prodigal,
00:30:56.28\00:30:59.45
Shaman the prodigal.
00:30:59.49\00:31:00.82
Well, you know, he
shouldn't have left home.
00:31:00.86\00:31:02.22
He dishonored his family.
00:31:02.26\00:31:03.69
He actually did more
than dishonor his family.
00:31:03.73\00:31:05.96
In the story that I write,
00:31:05.99\00:31:07.33
they scratch his name
out of the family lineage,
00:31:07.36\00:31:10.40
'cause he's no longer
going to be part of them.
00:31:10.43\00:31:11.83
We see that in
Bible chronologies
00:31:11.87\00:31:14.64
that sometimes the son's
name must have been removed,
00:31:14.67\00:31:17.97
because you're seeing
generations again skipped.
00:31:18.01\00:31:20.51
He did something that
dishonored the family.
00:31:20.54\00:31:23.21
Well, what about the
brother that stayed at home?
00:31:23.24\00:31:25.45
He was the good guy.
00:31:25.48\00:31:27.02
Well, if he was the good guy,
00:31:27.05\00:31:28.38
why was he so angry
when his brother came home?
00:31:28.42\00:31:30.39
So we catch a little
bit of this animosity
00:31:30.42\00:31:32.69
that sometimes we feel
toward people who go astray.
00:31:32.72\00:31:36.12
I've heard people say,
00:31:36.16\00:31:37.49
"Why do we spend so much money
00:31:37.53\00:31:38.86
to reclaim the lost?
00:31:38.89\00:31:40.30
They don't appreciate it.
They don't come to church.
00:31:40.33\00:31:42.33
Why would we do that?
00:31:42.36\00:31:43.70
Let's spend the
money on our own people."
00:31:43.73\00:31:46.20
And, you know,
that's a very real concern.
00:31:46.23\00:31:49.14
The point is, those
of us who stay home,
00:31:49.17\00:31:51.87
we're prodigals too.
00:31:51.91\00:31:53.34
Everybody is a prodigal.
00:31:53.38\00:31:56.21
Unpack that?
00:31:56.24\00:31:57.65
Everybody needs to
come back to Jesus.
00:31:57.68\00:32:01.58
Paul said, "I die daily."
00:32:01.62\00:32:04.25
Paul, the great missionary man
who probably changed the world
00:32:04.29\00:32:07.66
more than anybody since Jesus
00:32:07.69\00:32:09.82
because he helped set
the tone for Christianity.
00:32:09.86\00:32:12.73
He said, "I'm
the worst of sinners.
00:32:12.76\00:32:15.50
The things I want
to do, I don't do.
00:32:15.53\00:32:17.77
The things I
shouldn't do, I do."
00:32:17.80\00:32:21.24
And so that means,
00:32:21.27\00:32:23.20
lest we forget,
we are all prodigals.
00:32:23.24\00:32:25.84
We all need to
come back to Jesus.
00:32:25.87\00:32:27.54
Every day, I tell people,
00:32:27.58\00:32:29.44
"You must have
some time in the morning
00:32:29.48\00:32:32.25
to keep that
connection with Jesus.
00:32:32.28\00:32:34.48
Put the armor on in the morning.
00:32:34.52\00:32:36.25
You'll be straying less.
00:32:36.28\00:32:39.02
You'll be leaving less.
00:32:39.05\00:32:41.02
And won't have to make
those horrible mistakes
00:32:41.06\00:32:43.26
the prodigal made.
00:32:43.29\00:32:44.63
He was probably the
kind of guy that says,
00:32:44.66\00:32:46.59
"Oh, I need to experience
these things for myself."
00:32:46.63\00:32:50.07
Bad, bad teacher,
I think sometimes.
00:32:50.10\00:32:52.57
And sanctification is
the work of a lifetime.
00:32:52.60\00:32:55.07
And sometimes we
seem to forget that.
00:32:55.10\00:32:57.24
Yes, yes.
00:32:57.27\00:32:58.91
Talk about the
devotionals a little bit?
00:32:58.94\00:33:01.68
Devotionals are the book
00:33:01.71\00:33:03.51
that you can take
to read every day.
00:33:03.55\00:33:06.01
And the theme is the secret.
00:33:06.05\00:33:08.58
You know, some of my great ideas
00:33:08.62\00:33:11.55
on themes never panned out
00:33:11.59\00:33:13.86
because I couldn't get
enough devotionals to go.
00:33:13.89\00:33:16.93
I marvel at
guys like Mark Finley
00:33:16.96\00:33:19.66
or, you know, some of the
guys from Voice of Prophecy,
00:33:19.69\00:33:21.93
they read it, "365 devotionals?
00:33:21.96\00:33:24.70
How do you make sure
you don't go over territory,
00:33:24.73\00:33:26.94
you've already covered?"
00:33:26.97\00:33:28.30
Of course, me being a teacher,
00:33:28.34\00:33:30.07
you know, I want
to entertain the kids
00:33:30.11\00:33:31.77
and I don't want to look
old and have a short memory, so.
00:33:31.81\00:33:34.88
One of my, the
first devotional I did
00:33:34.91\00:33:36.34
was called Time Warp.
00:33:36.38\00:33:38.68
Okay. I love history.
00:33:38.71\00:33:40.05
I love imagining.
00:33:40.08\00:33:41.42
One of the questions I asked,
my members into my sermon,
00:33:41.45\00:33:44.39
says, "If you could go
back to a day and time,
00:33:44.42\00:33:47.92
where would you go?
00:33:47.96\00:33:49.29
You got one day."
00:33:49.32\00:33:50.66
And some picks
exciting adventure,
00:33:50.69\00:33:52.86
some say the time of Jesus,
00:33:52.89\00:33:54.23
some say, "I want
to see the dinosaurs
00:33:54.26\00:33:56.33
before the flood."
00:33:56.36\00:33:57.70
And so, you know,
that's a great imagination.
00:33:57.73\00:34:01.17
Station thing.
00:34:01.20\00:34:02.97
So I said, "We can do this."
00:34:03.00\00:34:05.54
Oh, yeah. Right.
00:34:05.57\00:34:06.91
Try to find something
engaging for everyday,
00:34:06.94\00:34:09.84
you know, of
the year in history.
00:34:09.88\00:34:11.58
Some days, I had 42
things to pick from.
00:34:11.61\00:34:14.88
Some days, I
couldn't find even one thing
00:34:14.92\00:34:16.82
that I thought
was engaging for kids.
00:34:16.85\00:34:19.55
Some of them were
as simple as like,
00:34:19.59\00:34:21.22
the day
SpaghettiOs was invented.
00:34:21.26\00:34:24.13
Wow, that's simple!
00:34:24.16\00:34:25.73
Or the day Popeye was first,
you know, put in cartoons.
00:34:25.76\00:34:30.57
Well, those may not be
00:34:30.60\00:34:32.20
the most
inspirational things for adults.
00:34:32.23\00:34:35.00
But if you look
back in your early years,
00:34:35.04\00:34:38.11
you know,
spaghetti was a pretty good.
00:34:38.14\00:34:40.44
Popeye, you know,
he eats that spinach,
00:34:40.48\00:34:42.04
it's worth it, right?
00:34:42.08\00:34:43.85
So there's
always a note at the end
00:34:43.88\00:34:45.85
about what this can do for me.
00:34:45.88\00:34:49.12
What could this
lesson do for me?
00:34:49.15\00:34:51.09
How can I be more like Jesus?
00:34:51.12\00:34:52.89
You know, how can I brand
God like SpaghettiOs branded,
00:34:52.92\00:34:57.43
the company that...
00:34:57.46\00:34:59.19
Can you remember the
name of the company that...
00:34:59.23\00:35:00.56
I can't either.
00:35:00.60\00:35:01.93
It's been so long. I
just remember SpaghettiOs.
00:35:01.96\00:35:03.40
Yes, yes.
00:35:03.43\00:35:04.77
But there's always
a personal application
00:35:04.80\00:35:07.27
at the end of it,
which is powerful.
00:35:07.30\00:35:08.64
Yeah.
00:35:08.67\00:35:10.01
So that was fun, you
know, explorers, inventors,
00:35:10.04\00:35:12.84
great sports people in history,
00:35:12.87\00:35:14.64
you know, who broke records
00:35:14.68\00:35:16.24
and I say, really, you
know, they were heroes.
00:35:16.28\00:35:18.48
But really,
who's the biggest hero?
00:35:18.51\00:35:21.22
Who's the biggest superhero?
00:35:21.25\00:35:22.65
Jesus. Jesus.
00:35:22.68\00:35:24.89
Absolutely.
00:35:24.92\00:35:26.49
Another
devotional, Steps to Christ.
00:35:26.52\00:35:29.42
Probably, the
greatest devotional book
00:35:29.46\00:35:31.96
of all time,
00:35:31.99\00:35:33.56
translated into
like 150 languages now.
00:35:33.60\00:35:36.73
We use it in prison
ministries more than any other,
00:35:36.77\00:35:40.27
more than any other book
00:35:40.30\00:35:41.64
because all the
prisoners want to know is,
00:35:41.67\00:35:44.17
"Can God still love me?"
00:35:44.21\00:35:45.54
And the next week we
come back to do a service,
00:35:45.57\00:35:47.41
they want to hear
it again and again.
00:35:47.44\00:35:49.21
So I said, "How
can I take this book
00:35:49.24\00:35:51.75
and make it usable for kids
00:35:51.78\00:35:53.85
or for people who
are seasoned Christians,
00:35:53.88\00:35:55.95
who already know
that Jesus loves them,
00:35:55.98\00:35:58.02
that He'll accept
them, no matter who they are,
00:35:58.05\00:36:00.39
what they've done?
00:36:00.42\00:36:01.76
And so we broke it
up into 66 devotionals,
00:36:01.79\00:36:04.23
just happened to be 66.
00:36:04.26\00:36:05.93
And we added a
story from the Bible,
00:36:05.96\00:36:10.73
a real life story,
00:36:10.77\00:36:12.13
you know, or a
story from modern history
00:36:12.17\00:36:15.17
or our mission
story of some sort,
00:36:15.20\00:36:16.81
stories that
have happened to me,
00:36:16.84\00:36:18.64
story that happened to
us in the mission field.
00:36:18.67\00:36:20.48
And then at the end of
that we put up either a hymn
00:36:20.51\00:36:23.85
or a very well-known poem
that can inspire them, so.
00:36:23.88\00:36:27.35
Steps to Christ:
00:36:27.38\00:36:28.72
Every Day with Jesus
is the name of the book.
00:36:28.75\00:36:30.92
Wow, that's
incredible. That's incredible.
00:36:30.95\00:36:33.52
For people that
are wanting to learn
00:36:33.56\00:36:36.76
how to tell stories,
and how can they learn that?
00:36:36.79\00:36:40.40
Can that be taught?
00:36:40.43\00:36:43.37
It can be taught. This
is like being a musician.
00:36:43.40\00:36:46.33
Some people are
born with the notes.
00:36:46.37\00:36:49.04
They come out of
the womb singing.
00:36:49.07\00:36:51.17
Others have to be
trained, others have to learn,
00:36:51.21\00:36:54.11
others have to experience,
you know, some horror,
00:36:54.14\00:36:58.75
some scary experiences on stage.
00:36:58.78\00:37:00.92
Same thing with writing,
00:37:00.95\00:37:02.68
and reading,
and telling stories.
00:37:02.72\00:37:04.22
I think if
you're going to become
00:37:04.25\00:37:05.79
a great storyteller,
you need to be able to read.
00:37:05.82\00:37:08.16
In other words,
00:37:08.19\00:37:09.52
you need to be
able to like to read
00:37:09.56\00:37:11.83
and immerse
yourself in the stories
00:37:11.86\00:37:13.43
to become a person,
00:37:13.46\00:37:15.46
a character in that story.
00:37:15.50\00:37:16.83
So that's the best way.
00:37:16.87\00:37:18.40
The second way
is that we grow up
00:37:18.43\00:37:20.90
hearing stories told to us,
00:37:20.94\00:37:22.67
our parents or our
grandparents or a teacher,
00:37:22.70\00:37:25.64
and we just hung at every word
00:37:25.67\00:37:27.01
because they were
a great storyteller.
00:37:27.04\00:37:28.81
It's a dying art.
00:37:28.84\00:37:30.58
You don't hear a lot
of good storytellers now.
00:37:30.61\00:37:33.25
There are now
organizations who have contests,
00:37:33.28\00:37:35.98
and I was looking
at one the other day.
00:37:36.02\00:37:37.95
And the kids come
from all over the world
00:37:37.99\00:37:39.72
to tell their story.
00:37:39.75\00:37:41.26
And it's quite inspirational.
00:37:41.29\00:37:46.36
If you want to be
a great storyteller,
00:37:46.39\00:37:48.30
you probably need to write.
00:37:48.33\00:37:51.87
You might not think
you're the greatest writer,
00:37:51.90\00:37:54.07
write out your thoughts,
write out your inspiration,
00:37:54.10\00:37:57.84
the colors you see,
the smells, the tastes.
00:37:57.87\00:38:00.18
Yeah. Very descriptive.
00:38:00.21\00:38:02.64
Very descriptive.
00:38:02.68\00:38:04.88
And because you need to
be descriptive in a story
00:38:04.91\00:38:07.75
to get people to be there.
00:38:07.78\00:38:09.92
And, of course,
there's the trick
00:38:09.95\00:38:11.29
of telling stories to children,
telling stories to adults.
00:38:11.32\00:38:14.62
Adults can handle more details,
00:38:14.66\00:38:16.62
but sometimes they
just want to race on
00:38:16.66\00:38:19.29
and get to the...
00:38:19.33\00:38:20.96
They want to get to the
plot. Out to the plot, you know?
00:38:21.00\00:38:22.66
Yes, yes, yes.
00:38:22.70\00:38:24.03
So when you're writing
for kids as opposed to adults,
00:38:24.07\00:38:29.14
what kinds of
things do you include
00:38:29.17\00:38:33.31
that grasps their
attention the fast?
00:38:33.34\00:38:36.75
'Cause I would imagine
00:38:36.78\00:38:38.11
that you have to grab
their attention immediately.
00:38:38.15\00:38:41.12
Yeah, you better
have some adventure
00:38:41.15\00:38:42.48
really, really...
00:38:42.52\00:38:43.85
In the first chapter, you
better have some adventure.
00:38:43.89\00:38:45.85
So I'm writing a
book about Samson
00:38:45.89\00:38:47.52
right now for kids.
00:38:47.56\00:38:49.19
It's gonna be a new series
called Bible Mystery Stories.
00:38:49.22\00:38:52.13
And it's a very
mysterious story.
00:38:52.16\00:38:54.06
A lot of people
probably didn't know
00:38:54.10\00:38:55.43
where he got his strength.
00:38:55.46\00:38:56.80
They knew he had
it, but what was it?
00:38:56.83\00:38:58.80
Did they know that
his hair was the secret?
00:38:58.83\00:39:01.50
We don't really see
that in the narrative.
00:39:01.54\00:39:04.31
So they're wondering,
00:39:04.34\00:39:05.87
"Okay, he's
blessed by God, clearly."
00:39:05.91\00:39:07.54
He's not a ordinary human being.
00:39:07.58\00:39:10.18
Is he a human being?
00:39:10.21\00:39:11.61
Well, yeah, he was.
00:39:11.65\00:39:12.98
He made a lot of dumb
mistakes like most humans do.
00:39:13.01\00:39:16.22
And so in that first chapter,
00:39:16.25\00:39:19.29
those kids in that
story intersect with Samson.
00:39:19.32\00:39:22.16
And I'm not gonna tell you
what it is 'cause, you know,
00:39:22.19\00:39:23.53
I just want to...
00:39:23.56\00:39:24.89
Yeah.
00:39:24.93\00:39:26.26
For kids, it's a
little different.
00:39:26.29\00:39:27.63
For adults, you
want to capture them
00:39:27.66\00:39:29.96
and try to get them
00:39:30.00\00:39:31.37
to relate to the
story as soon as possible.
00:39:31.40\00:39:34.87
Is this a thing that I
would be interested in?
00:39:34.90\00:39:37.04
Like 101
reasons to go to heaven.
00:39:37.07\00:39:38.77
Yes. Yeah.
00:39:38.81\00:39:40.21
Or like, what if?
00:39:40.24\00:39:42.08
What if I had been Eve?
00:39:42.11\00:39:43.85
What I have done what she does?
00:39:43.88\00:39:46.95
You know, I don't know.
00:39:46.98\00:39:49.28
See, and that's interesting.
00:39:49.32\00:39:50.99
Oftentimes we say,
00:39:51.02\00:39:52.35
"Well, I
wouldn't have done that."
00:39:52.39\00:39:53.72
Well, you never know
00:39:53.76\00:39:55.12
until you were in
that person's position
00:39:55.16\00:39:57.53
and with those
same circumstances
00:39:57.56\00:39:59.79
going on around
you, you never know.
00:39:59.83\00:40:02.03
And you see in
today's day and age,
00:40:02.06\00:40:05.17
where we do similar things
to what we see in the Bible.
00:40:05.20\00:40:08.90
I make it in
black and white, I say,
00:40:08.94\00:40:11.61
"So, if you were in a place
00:40:11.64\00:40:14.48
where people were
not talking about Jesus,
00:40:14.51\00:40:17.98
and they were actually
antagonistic about Jesus,
00:40:18.01\00:40:20.75
would you talk about Jesus?"
00:40:20.78\00:40:22.95
Oh, well, there were three guys
who got thrown into a furnace
00:40:22.98\00:40:27.32
because they
only talked about God.
00:40:27.36\00:40:30.83
Could you do that?
00:40:30.86\00:40:32.19
Or would you say, "Well,
00:40:32.23\00:40:34.53
I'd rather live
to see another day
00:40:34.56\00:40:35.90
and be faithful
to God tomorrow."
00:40:35.93\00:40:38.20
That's not how it goes.
00:40:38.23\00:40:39.57
No, you have to operate
within the time at all times.
00:40:39.60\00:40:42.74
What if we want to read
the stories about Shadrach,
00:40:42.77\00:40:46.34
Meshach, and
Abednego or Daniel saying,
00:40:46.37\00:40:49.38
"Okay, I'll pray
00:40:49.41\00:40:50.75
even though it's
going to cost me.
00:40:50.78\00:40:52.11
I know I'm going
into lion's den."
00:40:52.15\00:40:53.68
Daniel know, he's no slouch,
he knows he was a statesman.
00:40:53.72\00:40:57.95
He knew what that decree said.
00:40:57.99\00:41:00.32
Oh, yeah. Or the story of Jonah.
00:41:00.36\00:41:02.02
Okay.
00:41:02.06\00:41:03.39
Okay, okay, I'm
going, I'm going, I'm going.
00:41:03.43\00:41:07.00
Maybe we wouldn't want to
do a quite the way he did it,
00:41:07.03\00:41:09.20
but we'd rather be
doing what he did in the end.
00:41:09.23\00:41:11.97
Not at all.
00:41:12.00\00:41:13.34
Absolutely. What if?
00:41:13.37\00:41:14.90
Absolutely. What if?
00:41:14.94\00:41:16.71
What's your
favorite Bible story?
00:41:16.74\00:41:19.61
My favorite Bible
story of all time,
00:41:19.64\00:41:21.08
I have to be honest.
00:41:21.11\00:41:23.65
I'm not a guy that likes,
you know, violent war movies.
00:41:23.68\00:41:26.61
But I think David and Goliath.
00:41:26.65\00:41:29.78
I think there's something
in every boy that says,
00:41:29.82\00:41:32.49
"I want to be the hero.
00:41:32.52\00:41:34.16
I want to be the champion.
00:41:34.19\00:41:36.32
And then in the end,
00:41:36.36\00:41:39.36
I want to also
make God look good."
00:41:39.39\00:41:43.03
Can you do that? Yes!
00:41:43.06\00:41:45.10
I think God gives
us chances to do that.
00:41:45.13\00:41:47.07
And sometimes I think
we're really surprised
00:41:47.10\00:41:49.40
that God does
in such a dramatic,
00:41:49.44\00:41:51.34
dramatic way.
00:41:51.37\00:41:52.71
Yes.
00:41:52.74\00:41:54.08
And to that,
00:41:54.11\00:41:56.08
someone on the
outside looking in, like,
00:41:56.11\00:41:58.25
you know, in terms
of outward appearance,
00:41:58.28\00:42:00.22
David was the underdog
00:42:00.25\00:42:01.85
but really he
had God on his side.
00:42:01.88\00:42:03.28
So he, I mean, he had
it in the bag pretty much,
00:42:03.32\00:42:06.99
and Goliath was,
00:42:07.02\00:42:08.46
you know, was the
giant, but, um, but yeah,
00:42:08.49\00:42:11.09
it's easy to want to
identify with David too.
00:42:11.13\00:42:15.20
That is... Yeah.
00:42:15.23\00:42:16.56
Yeah, we get the idea
00:42:16.60\00:42:17.93
that David's just
kind of bumbling along,
00:42:17.97\00:42:20.34
"Oh, well, here I am."
00:42:20.37\00:42:21.97
You know, playing the
harp for, you know, King Saul.
00:42:22.00\00:42:24.77
"Oh, here I am.
00:42:24.81\00:42:26.14
Oh, Samuels,
anointing me for something.
00:42:26.17\00:42:27.81
I don't know."
00:42:27.84\00:42:29.18
Oh, he says,
"Oh, here's the giant.
00:42:29.21\00:42:30.55
Well, I can't have him
to be dishonoring God."
00:42:30.58\00:42:32.35
Actually, Ellen White says,
00:42:32.38\00:42:34.38
"The angel of the Lord
came and impressed David
00:42:34.42\00:42:38.22
that He needed to go and
do great things for God."
00:42:38.25\00:42:42.76
As it, while he
was a shepherd boy,
00:42:42.79\00:42:44.73
walking among the smelly sheep,
00:42:44.76\00:42:46.80
low worst job in
Israel in those days
00:42:46.83\00:42:49.06
was to be a shepherd.
00:42:49.10\00:42:50.43
And we don't
really capture that.
00:42:50.47\00:42:52.50
But his brothers
look down on him.
00:42:52.53\00:42:56.24
They look down on him,
00:42:56.27\00:42:57.61
even though he
was part of the family
00:42:57.64\00:42:58.97
because he was the sheep guy.
00:42:59.01\00:43:00.44
Yes. Yes.
00:43:00.48\00:43:03.41
What's your most popular book?
00:43:03.45\00:43:06.51
My most popular book
00:43:06.55\00:43:07.88
among the Bible storybooks here,
00:43:07.92\00:43:09.28
I think would
probably have to be
00:43:09.32\00:43:13.02
Shepherd Warrior.
00:43:13.05\00:43:14.62
That one is sold by
the NAD for all schools,
00:43:14.66\00:43:18.39
and all school curriculums,
00:43:18.43\00:43:19.76
use it for the
fifth grade reader,
00:43:19.79\00:43:21.50
and also plugged
in the participants.
00:43:21.53\00:43:24.10
This Shepherd Warrior
is the story about the boy
00:43:24.13\00:43:27.30
who was a shepherd
and became a warrior.
00:43:27.34\00:43:30.57
But really, he was
already being a warrior
00:43:30.61\00:43:32.71
before he ever
went and met Goliath.
00:43:32.74\00:43:35.04
He had already
killed lions and bears
00:43:35.08\00:43:37.18
and he actually was known
in those parts of the country
00:43:37.21\00:43:40.78
as being a Man of War.
00:43:40.82\00:43:42.62
But we also get the
impression he was still a kid.
00:43:42.65\00:43:45.52
So think about that.
00:43:45.55\00:43:47.29
In those days kids
didn't get respected
00:43:47.32\00:43:48.99
and go to war,
00:43:49.02\00:43:50.36
officially until they were 21.
00:43:50.39\00:43:51.73
Wow!
00:43:51.76\00:43:53.09
David couldn't have
been more than 17 maybe,
00:43:53.13\00:43:56.16
maybe younger, some
want to put him younger,
00:43:56.20\00:43:58.10
16, 17, 18, he is still a boy
00:43:58.13\00:44:00.50
doesn't belong
in the battlefield.
00:44:00.54\00:44:02.00
He's too scared
to fight a battle,
00:44:02.04\00:44:03.77
but he's
killing lions and bears.
00:44:03.81\00:44:06.41
And he told that
story to King Saul
00:44:06.44\00:44:08.78
before he even actually went out
00:44:08.81\00:44:10.65
and fought Goliath.
00:44:10.68\00:44:12.15
So here's a young man
00:44:12.18\00:44:14.05
who was
considered a brave heart.
00:44:14.08\00:44:17.39
And the rest is history.
00:44:17.42\00:44:19.89
Yeah, absolutely.
00:44:19.92\00:44:21.52
And it's incredible.
00:44:21.56\00:44:22.89
I mean, these are real stories.
00:44:22.92\00:44:24.26
These are real life stories
00:44:24.29\00:44:26.23
that everybody should know about
00:44:26.26\00:44:27.96
and everybody
needs to know about.
00:44:28.00\00:44:30.17
I also want to tell how
you can get these stories.
00:44:30.20\00:44:33.80
So your website,
what's your website?
00:44:33.84\00:44:36.07
Website is TheStoryTellers.one.
00:44:36.10\00:44:40.91
TheStoryTellers,
T-E-L-L-E-R-S.one.
00:44:40.94\00:44:44.85
TheStoryTellers.one
00:44:44.88\00:44:46.21
I think is going to
be on the screen also.
00:44:46.25\00:44:47.78
So if you want to go there,
00:44:47.82\00:44:49.15
you're going to learn
00:44:49.18\00:44:50.52
how you can buy
any of these books.
00:44:50.55\00:44:52.75
You also are going to
learn some other things,
00:44:52.79\00:44:54.86
how you can get us
to come to your church,
00:44:54.89\00:44:57.99
your school, to do
a writer's workshop,
00:44:58.03\00:45:01.86
maybe for the high school
kids or the junior high kids,
00:45:01.90\00:45:05.03
how you can get us to come
00:45:05.07\00:45:06.90
and do a week of
prayer for your students,
00:45:06.94\00:45:09.50
or your church,
00:45:09.54\00:45:10.87
or how you can get
us to do a seminar on
00:45:10.91\00:45:13.01
how to become a
great storyteller.
00:45:13.04\00:45:14.71
Nice.
00:45:14.74\00:45:16.08
Trust me, there's a
lot of ways to do it.
00:45:16.11\00:45:17.48
There's a lot of ways
to tell stories with props,
00:45:17.51\00:45:21.22
you know, with animation,
00:45:21.25\00:45:22.98
you know, the
first-person, kid's stories,
00:45:23.02\00:45:26.09
miracle
stories, mission stories,
00:45:26.12\00:45:29.32
personal stories that
happened to you and me.
00:45:29.36\00:45:32.96
The power of a
testimony. Yes, yes.
00:45:32.99\00:45:35.66
Now, I know that
you've been on mission trips.
00:45:35.70\00:45:38.03
I know that
you've been interviewed
00:45:38.07\00:45:39.90
about mission trips,
and all of that stuff.
00:45:39.93\00:45:43.20
Just give a brief story
00:45:43.24\00:45:45.31
about one of the mission
trips that you've been on?
00:45:45.34\00:45:47.74
Well, I lived
in three countries,
00:45:47.78\00:45:49.71
Africa, Russia, and Thailand.
00:45:49.74\00:45:53.85
You know, I think
Thailand was the latest.
00:45:53.88\00:45:56.69
I had students there.
00:45:56.72\00:45:58.35
I was gonna
collect our stories, right?
00:45:58.39\00:45:59.72
So, as students there,
00:45:59.75\00:46:01.09
tell me the
story that sticks out
00:46:01.12\00:46:02.46
in your mind the most.
00:46:02.49\00:46:03.83
And this young man who
was a theology major said,
00:46:03.86\00:46:06.70
this guy,
00:46:06.73\00:46:08.06
he knew who had
been in an ISIS fighter.
00:46:08.10\00:46:09.86
Oh, wow.
00:46:09.90\00:46:11.23
And he was captured in Malaysia.
00:46:11.27\00:46:13.10
When you do things
you should not do in Asia.
00:46:13.13\00:46:15.57
And they're not nice.
00:46:15.60\00:46:17.34
They're not kind to you.
00:46:17.37\00:46:18.71
They won't give you a
prison cell with a television
00:46:18.74\00:46:20.34
and great food.
00:46:20.38\00:46:21.71
They just... It's not nice.
00:46:21.74\00:46:23.08
They put him in jail,
00:46:23.11\00:46:24.75
locked him up and he
was angry as a hornet,
00:46:24.78\00:46:27.88
because he's a ISIS fighter.
00:46:27.92\00:46:30.35
First chance he gets out,
00:46:30.39\00:46:32.02
he's gonna
murder some more people,
00:46:32.05\00:46:34.59
if he ever gets out.
00:46:34.62\00:46:36.26
But he's locked in a cell.
00:46:36.29\00:46:37.76
The only access
he has the outside
00:46:37.79\00:46:39.53
is a little door,
00:46:39.56\00:46:40.90
and somebody comes one day
00:46:40.93\00:46:42.53
and slips a
Bible into that door,
00:46:42.56\00:46:44.97
never saw it.
00:46:45.00\00:46:46.33
He saw a hand but he
never saw who it was.
00:46:46.37\00:46:48.77
And he said, "What's this?"
00:46:48.80\00:46:50.14
Just throw it in the
corner. He was so angry.
00:46:50.17\00:46:52.27
And, but he got
depressed as the days went by,
00:46:52.31\00:46:54.88
he's thinking about death,
he's probably going to die.
00:46:54.91\00:46:59.28
He finally went
picked up the Bible,
00:46:59.31\00:47:01.28
about the light, of the,
00:47:01.32\00:47:03.85
light coming into the
cell, he started reading.
00:47:03.89\00:47:06.22
And when he got to the gospels,
00:47:06.25\00:47:09.52
he read the story
about Jesus over and over.
00:47:09.56\00:47:12.06
And by the fourth
time in the Book of John,
00:47:12.09\00:47:13.70
he said, "This is crazy.
00:47:13.73\00:47:16.30
These are the Christians
I've been fighting against.
00:47:16.33\00:47:19.43
This is the Man who
saved me from my sins."
00:47:19.47\00:47:23.61
And he started to pray
00:47:23.64\00:47:24.97
and just then a dark
presence came into a cell
00:47:25.01\00:47:27.64
and grabbed him by the throat
00:47:27.68\00:47:29.38
and held him up off the
floor against their cell wall.
00:47:29.41\00:47:32.01
And he said, "Okay, I
knew I would probably die,
00:47:32.05\00:47:34.95
didn't know
would happen this way."
00:47:34.98\00:47:36.99
And he managed to cry
out, "Jesus saved me."
00:47:37.02\00:47:41.02
He knew Jesus now
from what he'd read,
00:47:41.06\00:47:43.09
not from anybody who taught him.
00:47:43.12\00:47:45.33
And that force
flying across the cell,
00:47:45.36\00:47:48.46
he hit the wall so
hard, it knocked him out.
00:47:48.50\00:47:52.03
And when he woke up,
00:47:52.07\00:47:53.84
it was a glorious
being standing in the cell.
00:47:53.87\00:47:57.11
And as the
being's face crystallized
00:47:57.14\00:48:01.31
and came and appeared to him,
00:48:01.34\00:48:04.61
said, "I am Jesus.
00:48:04.65\00:48:07.82
Follow Me."
00:48:07.85\00:48:09.32
Wow!
00:48:09.35\00:48:10.72
And he, of course,
became a Christian.
00:48:10.75\00:48:13.25
Unfortunately,
00:48:13.29\00:48:14.62
I don't have the
rest of the story for you.
00:48:14.66\00:48:16.73
So, you're gonna
lose me on the clip end.
00:48:16.76\00:48:18.83
I know that I
got to find that out.
00:48:18.86\00:48:20.20
I want to track down this dude.
00:48:20.23\00:48:21.56
He just graduated from southern,
00:48:21.60\00:48:23.00
he came back went to Southern.
00:48:23.03\00:48:24.37
So I need to find out
the rest of that story,
00:48:24.40\00:48:26.37
hunt it down.
00:48:26.40\00:48:27.74
Wow! Great story.
00:48:27.77\00:48:29.64
Those stories inspire me
00:48:29.67\00:48:32.77
to become a missionary for Jesus
00:48:32.81\00:48:34.48
again and again and again.
00:48:34.51\00:48:36.78
In fact, a couple years ago,
00:48:36.81\00:48:38.68
we were at the
GC five years ago.
00:48:38.71\00:48:41.18
And I remember
the Middle Eastern,
00:48:41.22\00:48:42.92
one of the representatives
from the Middle Eastern Union
00:48:42.95\00:48:46.25
said, "Please come
00:48:46.29\00:48:47.89
to the Middle
East into that Window.
00:48:47.92\00:48:49.86
We have an opportunity,"
00:48:49.89\00:48:51.23
10/40 Window,
00:48:51.26\00:48:52.59
"but we can't
promise you high money.
00:48:52.63\00:48:54.36
We can't promise
you that you'll be safe.
00:48:54.40\00:48:57.60
We need 75 missionaries."
00:48:57.63\00:49:00.17
I felt like I wanted to
get up right then and go.
00:49:00.20\00:49:04.67
Maybe someday. Yeah.
00:49:04.71\00:49:06.57
All right.
00:49:06.61\00:49:07.94
You know, I've been to GYC
00:49:07.98\00:49:10.01
and I don't know if
you've, have you been,
00:49:10.05\00:49:11.75
ever went to GYC?
00:49:11.78\00:49:13.31
I'd never been to the GYC.
00:49:13.35\00:49:14.68
We do our own
version every summer, but...
00:49:14.72\00:49:16.05
Got you. Got you.
00:49:16.08\00:49:17.59
They made a call
for missionaries.
00:49:17.62\00:49:20.89
And they had asked these
kids to come up to the front,
00:49:20.92\00:49:24.56
the young people to come
up to the front and they said,
00:49:24.59\00:49:26.66
you know, "You might die.
00:49:26.70\00:49:28.96
You might not make it back.
00:49:29.00\00:49:31.23
But would you
still be willing to go
00:49:31.27\00:49:33.40
and be a missionary for Christ."
00:49:33.44\00:49:35.00
And so many
people went to the front
00:49:35.04\00:49:37.67
and that's inspiring to see too.
00:49:37.71\00:49:40.08
And I can only imagine,
00:49:40.11\00:49:41.98
you know, as kids are
reading these stories,
00:49:42.01\00:49:46.41
as they're going
through these books
00:49:46.45\00:49:48.32
and they're
learning about Christ,
00:49:48.35\00:49:49.88
and they're
learning who Jesus is,
00:49:49.92\00:49:54.39
that they're even
more inspired to serve Him.
00:49:54.42\00:49:58.73
Do you have any testimonies
00:49:58.76\00:50:00.40
of maybe some kids or adults
00:50:00.43\00:50:03.57
that have read your books
00:50:03.60\00:50:04.93
and how it's touched their life?
00:50:04.97\00:50:06.84
I do.
00:50:06.87\00:50:09.20
When I was on the West Coast
teaching in a school there,
00:50:09.24\00:50:14.01
I asked them,
00:50:14.04\00:50:16.91
"Do you have criteria for
kids coming into the school?"
00:50:16.95\00:50:18.71
'Cause it's a small school,
00:50:18.75\00:50:20.08
the only Christian
school on the peninsula.
00:50:20.12\00:50:22.15
And they said,
00:50:22.18\00:50:23.99
"This is the
only Christian school.
00:50:24.02\00:50:25.65
We need as many people
from the outside to come in."
00:50:25.69\00:50:28.12
So there was no quota.
00:50:28.16\00:50:29.49
In my classroom, I
had one Adventist kid.
00:50:29.52\00:50:31.83
The other 13 are
all non-Adventist.
00:50:31.86\00:50:34.50
Jehovah's
Witnesses, Mormons, Catholics,
00:50:34.53\00:50:38.40
and one of them
was a Native American.
00:50:38.43\00:50:40.64
And I said to myself,
"Lord, what a mission field!"
00:50:40.67\00:50:43.30
Not even really,
really understanding
00:50:43.34\00:50:46.41
what was going to
happen in the next two years.
00:50:46.44\00:50:49.11
Two years later, I got a
call to go somewhere else
00:50:49.14\00:50:51.05
to teach at a college.
00:50:51.08\00:50:52.41
But the last two days,
00:50:52.45\00:50:53.78
we kind of did it
00:50:53.82\00:50:55.15
unpacking session with the kids.
00:50:55.18\00:50:56.52
And we had this
survey that I gave them.
00:50:56.55\00:51:01.62
And I wanted
them to list in order,
00:51:01.66\00:51:03.79
the priorities they had,
00:51:03.83\00:51:05.16
what they
thought they needed to do
00:51:05.19\00:51:06.53
to go to heaven.
00:51:06.56\00:51:07.93
You know, what
the number one thing
00:51:07.96\00:51:11.10
they thought they needed to do?
00:51:11.13\00:51:12.47
What was it? Keep the Sabbath.
00:51:12.50\00:51:14.30
Wow!
00:51:14.34\00:51:15.67
These are
non-Adventist kids, they said,
00:51:15.70\00:51:17.04
"If we keep the Sabbath,
we'll be closer to Jesus."
00:51:17.07\00:51:19.27
And I was astonished.
00:51:19.31\00:51:20.64
Where did they get these ideas?
00:51:20.68\00:51:22.01
They said, "From the stories."
00:51:22.04\00:51:24.58
One boy was such an introvert.
00:51:24.61\00:51:27.68
He was dressed in
Gothic, he's ninth grade,
00:51:27.72\00:51:31.52
and fish net on his
arms and black lipstick.
00:51:31.55\00:51:36.26
And the last day of school,
he said, "I'm a changed guy.
00:51:36.29\00:51:39.03
I'm not afraid to meet
people on the street now.
00:51:39.06\00:51:41.46
I'm a Christian.
I believe in Jesus.
00:51:41.50\00:51:44.60
I'll never be the same again."
00:51:44.63\00:51:46.60
Yes, amen.
00:51:46.63\00:51:48.30
So, isn't that our mission...
00:51:48.34\00:51:50.74
Absolute. Touch
lives wherever we go?
00:51:50.77\00:51:53.38
And point
people to Christ. Amen.
00:51:53.41\00:51:54.78
The young or old, you
know, don't think you're just,
00:51:54.81\00:51:57.48
you know, a kids person.
00:51:57.51\00:51:59.68
Go where God asks you
to go as a missionary,
00:51:59.71\00:52:02.02
He will take you
00:52:02.05\00:52:03.39
where you will be
most effective for Him
00:52:03.42\00:52:05.19
on any given day.
00:52:05.22\00:52:06.55
Amen. Amen.
00:52:06.59\00:52:07.92
There's so much
power in the story.
00:52:07.96\00:52:10.43
And people can
glean from all the lessons
00:52:10.46\00:52:13.56
that are found there.
00:52:13.60\00:52:14.93
And I can't believe
00:52:14.96\00:52:16.30
our time is
running down so fast,
00:52:16.33\00:52:19.70
but we are getting
ready to go to a news break
00:52:19.73\00:52:22.80
and we will be right back.
00:52:22.84\00:52:24.54
Don't go anywhere.
00:52:24.57\00:52:25.91